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Hello everyone, my name is Nelson. I started training karate in Venezuela when I turned 16, and did it for a few years. Once I became aware that I could seriously harm or kill another man with one punch, I quit. Since then I have been wanting to practice Aikido. I wanted to have another option than to kill another guy. I just wanted to be able to put him down without hurting him too much or not at all. On 09/11/2007, I went to the local Subway shop to get a sub on a Saturday afternoon and noticed that in the dojo next door there were two men dressed in white top and black pants. I saw how one of them "touched" the other one who ended up on the floor. I stopped on my tracks and kept looking. They did it again. At this time I decided to check it out and went to the door which was locked, but immediately one of them opened it. I asked: "Is this Aikido?" Yes, he responded. My second question was: "Do you do any type of kicking?" No, no kicking, he said. I though "Oh, good". Since I have bad knees from my karate days, I didn't want to start kicking again. I asked if I could watch one class. The next week I went to the dojo to observed the class and signed up. It has been a year and I wear a green belt. I train two days a week and practice at home almost daily. I love it. My only concern about Aikido is that I'm now 59 and don't have the same energy I had during my teen years. Sometimes I wonder: "Why am I doing this?" I respond to myself saying: "As I get older I need to keep moving to stay in decent shape and better health". This keeps me going. I'm also very determined and competitive; this helps too.
I would appreciate any uplifting comments from others who have experienced the same type of strugels regarding their Aikido practice.
Thanks,
Nelson

Nelson, Welcome to aiki-web. As I've told you before, I'll soon be 62 and definitely had a "different" energy when I was a teenager in this practice (and life). I now have "different " energy at my command. I suspect that you can also learn this. Keep up the good work and be aware of your body/mind/spirit.

I started as an out of shape 41 yr old and am now a somewhat disabled/hurting 53 yr old.
For me the two keys are: 1. finding a dojo that supports you in training safely to the best of your ability, whatever that is and however it may fluctuate day to day and 2. keeping a positive focus, listening to your body when it tells you to slow down a bit, but also to your spirit when it says to go just a little further.

All though, I'm not as mature as some other folks here, I believe the best thing you can do is get your butt off the couch and go exercise/socialize within your limits. Pay attention to your body and get to know the difference between "good" pain and "bad" pain and get to know your limits. Good pain would be the sort of burn you get in your muscles from a good work out. Bad pain would be of the sort caused by injury such as a sprained ankle.

Also, don't be afraid to take it slow, and don't be afraid to ask your partner to take it easy. Only you know your body and what's happening in it.

By the way, Janet, I'm glad to have read that you found a place to train that accommodates you. I'm not really sure how to express my opinion on that matter succinctly, but generally, I favor an honest, positive, and accepting approach to teaching/learning.

By the way Nelson, Ikeda Sensei will be in Orlando November 14-16, you should try and make it up there. Not sure what dojo your affiliated with, perhaps our paths will cross at some point.

Thank you, John.
I agree about distinguishing the "good" (or as I call it, benign" pain) and "bad" pain. For me, training in aikido, esp things like learning to breath and relax into nikkyo, really helped me learn to distinguish the two and gave valuable tools for coping with pain.

I just turned 45 this past summer and I must say that I am in pretty good shape. I can hang with the young guys in my dojo who are 25 and 27 years old. I would often watch the older Shihans who I knew were in their late 60's and wonder how they seemed to be moving in slow motion against uke who were in their 30's. Besides being in shape from training, I came to realize that you have to relax (which makes it so much easier on your body) and have complete control over your movements. Timing is everything. I believe that the older you get, the more subtle your movements become. I have very good energy right now, but I must admit that I have worked out with a few people older than me that really took me to task. So just keep training and be good to your body.

Started when I was 39. Am now 53. Had to leave aikido for about a year and am just getting back to it. One interesting thing I noticed. I NEVER had lower back problems while practicing. I attribute it to all that rolling shaking the spine up and keeping it loose as well as the benefit for the front core muscles. A couple of months after quitting, even though I still did other exercise, both cardio and weights, I started getting stiff in the mornings.

Call it chiro-aikido.

good luck. Take it slower and don't try to do as much of what the younger folks do. Vinney Testaverdae when playing his one year last year for the Carolina Panthers put it in focus. when you are in your 40's (or 50's) you just can't take the constant pounding like you can when you are in your twenties (for us its many breakfalls....!) Take some, but listen to your body especially the day after....!

I had exactly that same experience. I had always had lower back pain--sometimes just brutal, and on a daily basis. I've been training for around five years now, and have not had any troubles with my lower back that are not attributable to, say, a long day backpacking.

We have a 67 year old sandan at our dojo who is has some knee issues and less energy than the young ones. But his aikido is whispery quiet, soft and devastating. He has adapted it to his older-guy body.

I started as an overweight out of shape 38 year old. I am now 52. I am in the best shape of my life. I try to do everything the younger people do and I usually am the only one left standing at the end of the advanced class (which is an hour at full speed).

While many aren't like me at 52, some are and a few can be. Don't be too quick to limit yourself.

I'm only almost 47, but let me contribute with another piece of advice: don't forget balance and flexibility. Those are two things that we lose as we age, and we need to work specifically to improve them. Try to do some stretching exercises as least three times a week. After years of trial and errors, I have found that I need to do some stretching exercises every day, but that I should not do some others - like splitting, frontal and lateral - more than three times a week. Everybody is different, and maybe you could seek advice from a professional trainer or a chiropractor to make sure that your will not hurt yourself.
Balance is easier - and faster. Just practice everyday standing on one foot with your eyes closed. Make sure to align your spine with your supporting leg, and to stretch it straight up like someone was pulling your hair. Then repeat with on the other foot. This simple exercise can help you regain your balance when you slip in your bathtub for example.
Old age is not a calamity, it can be fought. Go for it!

Arigato Seiser Sensei, you are right. my Karate background still haunts me, and I'm still having trouble blending with something that hurts me. So let me rephrase this: Old age is only a big ugly rock standing in your way. Flow around it.
Give me a few more years of practice before I can reach your wisdom and start blending.

Onegaishimasu. Older age need not be 'fought'. My own intuition, at age 55 and after 24 years of aikido, tells me to 'study the ground'. Not just grappling, not that type of thing; but to look at two things: the kihon waza and the practicing shihans. Therein lies the treasure. It reminds me of a story where a man heard there was a jewel buried in a certain field. He put his savings on the line and bought the field.

I apologize for my boldness. Posting a reply while I have yet to set foot on a tatami. I am 53 myself and have just registered in a club in my area. Next week is the big start and I am looking forward to it. I am expecting a lot from it and a lot from myself too. Like they say, in Aikido you don't fight an opponent, you fight yourself. I am ready for it. Like it was advised, I will just take it slow. Better late than never.

Like Reginald I have not stepped foot on the tatami yet, but I am eagerly awaiting Friday to do so at Soseki Dojo here in Germany.

I am 30 and have a few physical issues that limit me from high-impact activities. I am looking forward to strengthening myself while moving with and around the old thoughts that you had to start young in martial arts to make it worthwhile.

Hey Nelson, you're as young as you feel, so here's to doing what feels good( Tampai!). Btw, I's born right there in Manattee Memorial and raised right there, so if ya know any Boyettes, say howdy, that's family.

Last edited by GeneC : 12-03-2008 at 06:19 PM.

Only between a single breath is Yin/Yang in harmony
Emotion is pure energy flowing feely thru the body-Dan Millman

I'm now 59 and don't have the same energy I had during my teen years. Sometimes I wonder: "Why am I doing this?" I respond to myself saying: "As I get older I need to keep moving to stay in decent shape and better health". This keeps me going. I'm also very determined and competitive; this helps too.
I would appreciate any uplifting comments from others who have experienced the same type of strugels regarding their Aikido practice.
Thanks,
Nelson

I can ask myself the same question really - albeit Im still in my 30s.
The point you bring up is legit...who do you think your going to fight?
As you get older the reality as we begin to mellow out, is that situations which would have brought a fight before - well - they stop before it happens. (Not saying this as a general rule, but its a part of maturity it seems.0

For me its helping me to do something 'new' and to challenge me.
Its helping me get in tune with my body - which is beneficial for me at any age. My coordination between upper and lower body is improving...the very act of learning something new actually helps out in other areas of life that seem like they are not related.

In short...its experience.
Experience in anything gives you more insight and perspective into life as a whole. There is so much I have taken away on a personal, philosophical level - my time learning Aikido in a country where I cannot speak the language... - Past asking for food and the toilet.

When your young, its about proving your place on the ranks...whether one puts on the 'humble' suite (false humility) or the outright egoic, "Im going to kick your butt" suit.

As mentioned, we mature and realize that someone out there will always beat someone else...it goes on forever and into infinity.
There must be another way? How do you go about to create perpetual harmony? In this sense, Aikido can be used for that - but, as hard as it may sound, so can Thai boxing. (though as our joints feel like giving out, it may not be a practical path.)

The path is the inward path...Eckhart Tolle has a great section on this at the end of his book A new earth.

Your almost 60...here is the question. Do you want to do it?
Then go for it...do you know why your doing it? Great opportunity for inner refection, introspection, what-not.

Enjoy, and Peace

dAlen

p.s.
Congrats on your green belt, you must be a fast learner!

p.s.s.
Just realized this is an older post - and Nelson only posted once.
Hope things are going good for you.

I am 63 and I love getting on the mat, especially when the "young bucks" come at me. Aikido keeps me young, as well as judo. Aikido needs to be enjoyed so forget about the age. You'll never be old as long as your mind is young and it stays young as long as you keep learning. Welcome to the mat!!